Sweet Potato Soul

Sweet potato sassiness and bubbling brown sugar assail my sense of smell. Vanilla verve and hot caramelized crystals hug me deep in my soul. Ostentatious aroma of orange Ombre confections. SNIFF. Grabs the little girl in me and I'm holding hands with my Nana. I let my eyes close and feel the embrace of my adolescence overtake me. Trips to McDonald's just because I begged too long and too much. Digging through jewelry boxes brim-full with shiny baubles and gilded brilliance. She wears pink, leather bedroom slippers and a floral house robe while we sip morning coffee and eat scrambled eggs. I'm only 5 but it's our ritual. I'm excited because my Nana is making sweet potato pie today.

Sweet potato pie is my comfort food of choice and paired with a scoop of ice cream becomes a trip down memory lane and a balm to a soul wounded by lots of heartache and hard breaks. A thoroughly elegant delicacy, there is something about the warm velvety goodness of a slice of sweet potato pie and the cool, creaminess of ice cream that is divine. No need for an appetizer to open up the palette or a chaser to wash it down, it is precise in its ability to offer sensual satisfaction and warm fuzzies. Think of that moment when you eat something delicious and you can’t help but close your eyes and moan in sheer ecstasy. They complement one another, like shell tops and Kangos. Salted sweet cream butter and homemade mashed potatoes. Chilled whole milk and Oreo cookies. There are lots of passable pairings but none as proper, pure, and completely unprecedented as pie and ice cream, at the heart of what makes the symbolism of the American Dream a reality, pie unifies. We love matches made in heaven!

So, what is the science of our tongues tingle and the delightful pleasure we experience because just the right concoction connects with our taste buds? It’s all in the flavor. According to psychologist Michael Tordoff of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, “…’flavor nutrient learning,’ [is] where we learn to form positive associations between the flavor of a given food and what that food does to our bodies.” Think sugar rushes when you eat a piece of candy and that feeling of being tipsy on margherita number 2. It’s a complex relationship between our brain and experiences that lead us to late night potato chip binges while watching Netflix or avoiding turning into Joe Pesci by having a Snickers bar when you miss lunch.

In a way, we train ourselves to find joy in food when we struggle to find it within ourselves. My perfect pairing is delectable on my palate and not just because it tastes AMAZING!!! It evokes a sense of nostalgia with every literal bite. An emotional attachment that I wasn’t even aware had been triggered through the act of my lips and tongue making intimate contact with a dessert that has been my favorite since my elementary aged self-sat with my nana eating scrambled eggs and drinking heavily creamed, sugared coffee. Even as I was writing this, there is a memory, a suggestion of savor and attraction in the field of flavor that is my mouth. An intricate intertwining with my past in a fashion deeper than I could ever cognitively imagine. It is akin to my heart, not solely about ingesting a dish I adore. In considering my perfect pairing this Christmas, when family is far away and some have been lost to me but never, ever forgotten, relishing the rush of a slice of sweet potato pie and a heaping scoop of ice cream won’t just be the yummy feelings it evokes in my tummy but the sweetness that fills my soul.